Phenix City Tourists' Guide
TOURISTS' GUIDE As A SPECIAL SERVICE TO READERS, herewith is recorded the official blue-ribbon, almost all-inclusive, Alabama National Guard listing of Phenix City's houses of fun and frolic. You could enter them, before the clean-up, at your own risk. Get on the roller coaster now and take a trip through what was the "business" district of America's wickedest city. North side of Fourteenth Street, as though crossing fromColumbus: Riverside Cafe: Owned and operated by Glenn Young- blood. Soldiers were rolled and drugged. B-girls were bought off for prostitution. B-Girls were instructed to take drunk GIs to the Oyster Bar for gambling. Oyster Bar: Downstairs under the Phenix Finance Comp- any. Owned and operated by Glenn Youngblood. Yarbrough's Cafe: Owned and operated by Clyde Yar- brough and Stewart McCollister who also had interests in the Bama Club. Plenty much gambling. Boone's Cafe: High knocker was E. V. Boone. Specialized in knockout drinks, rolling dogfaces, and running the B-girl pawn racket, Unconsumed beer was re-bottled and re-sold. B-girls could be bought for whoring. Haystack: Glenn Youngblood was proprietor. Customers were drugged. B-girls could be hired for other purposes. Coffee Pot: E. V. Boone and Glenn Youngblood were joint owners. Golden Rule Cafe: France Knighton, a gent whose motto was Do Unto Others Before They Do Unto You. This "cafe" actually was around the comer from Fourteenth Street on Fourth Avenue. South side of Fourteenth Street, as though crossing from Columbus again: Davis Sporting Goods & Pawn Shop: William (Bubba) Davis was commander in chief. Manhattan Cafe: Owned by the Davis' Enterprises. Silver Slipper: Owned by Davis' Enterprises, it was no place for a queen, offering gambling and prostitution. Manhattan Club: Upstairs over Manhattan Cafe and Silver Slipper. Here was headquarters for the National Lottery. Silver Dollar: Rudene Smith and H. C. Edwards served tasty dishes of bed-bouncing, dice, and poker. Curt's Cafe: Operated by Curt Daugherty, who ran slot machines, poker, dice, lottery, prostitution, and rolled soldiers. (Not much left to do, was there?) Blue Bonnet Cafe: Gambling, prostitution and tatooing while you wait. Your genial host: Frank Gullatt. Now let's jump down to the Dillingham Street Bridge and start across from Columbus once more and look at the Nonh side of the street: Bama Club and Corral: This was big-time stuff, it was widely advertised and attracted suckers from distant points. Reservations in advance often were necessary. Almost every type of gambling known to man (and Phenix City) which included poker, lottery, slots, blackjack, and parlays on foot- ball, baseball and basketball. Maintained a large stock of fire- works. Clip joint specialists were Stewart McCollister, J. D. Abney, Clyde Yarbrough, and J, D (Frog) Jones. Yellow Front Cafe: Run by W. C. Roney and his son, Lawrence, who also operated the 5 14 Club: Both houses contained slot machines, dice tables, aind were lottery headquarters. The buildings were owned by State Legislator Ben L, Cole, a silent partner to the Roneys for years. Next door was Girard Cleaners which served as a pickup station for lottery. Crossing over to the South side: Bridge Grocery: Headquarters for C. O. (Head) Revel and George T, Davis Sr- of the Metropolitan Lottery. Inside were roulette wheels, lottery equipment, business machines and an elaborate inside warning device. New Bridge Cafe: Gambling under the sponsorship of David Griggs. Ritz Cafe: Fat A. B. (Buck) Billingsley gypped the cus- tomers here with lottery and gambling. 602 Club; This was behind the Ritz. Andy Cook was in charge of gambling, ABC Store: Building leased to the state by Hoyt Shepherd and Jimmy Matthews. Original Barbecue: Assorted gambling and command post for K. L, (Red) Cook's lottery. Benxie's Club: Dice tables, slots, lottery records. Hit Highway 431 and 80 for more festivities: Diamond Horseshoe: This pickup station for prostitutes was owned by Ernest Youngblood. Jack's Cafe: Jack Hunt ran a dice table and slot machines. Sunny Lane Cafe: Nobody was really "sunny" here ex- cept R. M. Lane, the big cheese of the joint. 241 Club: Gambling and prostitution for sale by "Buck" Bush. Hillbilly Club: Prostitution. Veto's Trailer Park: Prostitution on wheels. Skyline Club: More bedroom enjoyment as well as gambling under the baleful eye of H, C. Hardin, Jr. Ei.t>oEADO Club: William Henry Clark was in charge of gambling and fornicarion. Bamboo Club: A nice atmosphere in which to lose at gambling. W, T. (Bud) Thurmond, Jr„ major domo. Red Top Cafe: Gambling. Square Dance Club: Names and numbers of each and every whore posted on outside walls witli semi-nude pictures. Cliff's Fish Camp: Should have been called a "cat" house, or possibly "catfish" house. Cliff Entrekin in charge of enter- tainment. Time now to roll along Scale Road: Phenix City Card Company: Dice loaded, cards marked by the expert, Horace T. Webster, 40I Club and The Circle Motel and Cafe were field headquarters for Rudene Smith's prostimcion racket. Club Avalon: J. D. Abney furnished gambling for Negro customers. New York Club; This was two blocks west on Stevens Street in the Negro section. It was owned by those merry men of make-believe, Stewan McCoHister and J. D. Abney. Cotton Club: For Negro trade, reached by dirt street South of exclusive residential section. Fanny Green, "The Queen of Hearts," MC'd the gambling and other activities. Numerous other houses of ill repute, entertainment and gambling, such as "Ma" Beachie's, existed throughout the area but you have taken only the quick tour through the most heavily settled section of the county.